Container.



B. O. ROGKWELL.

CONTAINER.

APPLICATION TILED FEB.3,1913.

Patented Mar. 10,1914

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Witnesses B. G. ROCKWELL.

CONTAINER.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. a, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor Witnesses Attorneys BYRD G. ROCKWELL, OF CAMDEN, ARKANSAS.

CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 3, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914. Serial No. 746,047.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Brno C. RooKwnLL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Camden, in the county of Ouachita and State of Arkansas,have invented a new and useful Container, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to collapsible c011- tainers such as shippingboxes, egg crates and the like, one of the objects of the inventionbeing to provide a cheap but eflicient substitute for the ordinarycontainer formed of slats.

The usual form of egg case or other like container made of slats haseach side and end formed of six pieces thus totaling twenty four piecesin the formation of the two sides and ends of the container. This has,obviously resulted in an undesirable expense due to the labor necessaryin assembling the parts.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a container,each side and end of which is formed in a single piece, said piece beingshaped to form slat-like extensions at its ends and a solid intermediateportion on which suitable advertising matter and the like can be placed.

A further object is to provide improved means for connecting the sidesand ends of the container whereby the container can be collapsed readilyand will not break open at the joints or split under the ordinarystrains to which the container is subjected by the contents thereof,while being handled.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective View of a containerembodying the present improvements, the top and bottom thereof beingremoved. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through a portion of. thecontainer. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line A-B Fig. 2. Fig.4 is aninner elevation of one of the panels of the container. Fig. 5 is asimilar view of another panel of the contamer. Fig. 6 is a horizontalsection through one end portion of one of the slats and showmg thehingewire seated in the kerf therein.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference C and D designatethe side panels of the container and E and F designate the end panels.Each panel C and D is formed in a single piece of stock length andhaving parallel slots 1 extending therein from its ends to form spacedtongues or slats all of which are integral with the central closedport-ion 2 of the panel. The said central portion is preferablychanneled in its inner face, as shown at 3, the said channels aliningwith the spaces between the tongues or slats 1- so that ribs 5 are thusproduced upon the inner surface of the central portion 2 and aline withthe inner portions of the tongues 4. As shown particularly in Figs. 1and 4c, the upper and lower tongues are thicker than the other tonguesof the panel, this construction having been found desirable in View ofthe fact that the upper and lower portions of the panel receive themeans employed for attaching the top and bottom panels of the container.

Formed within all of the tongues of the panel C are obliquely disposedkerfs 6, these kerfs being located in the inner sides of the tongues andclose to the free ends thereof, the said kerfs diverging outwardly fromthe ends of the tongues, as will be apparent by referring particularlyto Figs. 1 and 2. All of the kerfs in each end of the panel can beproduced in one operation by means of a saw provided for that purpose orby means of any other suitable tool. These kerfs are of such width as toreceive readily a hinge wire such as will be described hereinafter.

It is to be understood that the panel D is an exact duplicate of thepanel C and is to be disposed opposite thereto, both of said panelsbeing arranged with the smooth faces of the intermediate portion 2arranged outwardly, The panels E and F are duplicates of each other andeach formed in a single piece of board cut to proper length andprovided, in its ends, with parallel slots 7 extending up to a solidintermediate portion 8. Parallel tongues 9 are formed between the slots7 and grooves 10 are formed in the inner face of the solid portion 8 andaline with the slots 7, there being ribs 11 thus formed between thegrooves and which aline cut the proper formed entirely of separateslats.

with the tongues 9. Each tongue 9 is proj vided, in its inner side, witha diagonally disposed kerf 12 located adjacent the free end of thetongue, said kerf diverging outwardly from the end of the tongue. Thetongues 4c and 9 are so proportioned relative to each other and to theslots 1 and 7 that, when the four panels C, D, E and F are assembled,the tongues 9 will fit snugly within the slots 1 and the tongues a willfit snugly within the slots 7 while the kerfs in the tongues will extendbetween the kerfs 12 in tongues 9, the two sets of kerfs extendingpractically in opposite directions and only the inner end portionsthereof registering. These registering portions of the kerfs receivehinge wires 13 which extend throughout the height of the crate orcontainer and are retained within the kerfs by nails 17 or the likeextending transversely within the tongues and across the kerfs so asthus to hold the wires within the kerfs and at the same time strengthenthe tongues at the points where the kerfs are formed.

In order that the hinge wires may be retained in position, slats 15 arearranged above and below the panels E and F and bear, at their ends,upon the upper and lower edges of the panels G and D. These slats 15 areprovided, in their ends, with diagonally disposed kerfs 16 into whichthe ends of the wires 13 project, said ends being bent partly aroundnails 17 or the like which extend across the kerfs and being extendedthence longitudinally within the kerfs and finally bent outwardly attheir terminals, as shown at 18. Vith the ends of the hinge wires thusarranged within the kerfs 16, it will be seen that the slats 15 will beheld in position upon the panels 0 and D and, at the same time, thewires will be held against longitudinal displacement within the variouskerfs in which they are seated.

, After the wires have been seated within the various kerfs and securedin the manner described, the container can be collapsed or set up, asdesired and will be found to be light, durable and compact and aselficient, if not more so, than the ordinary containers Heretofore ithas been customary to bore the slats in order to receive the hinge wiresand this has, obviously, been laborious practice ascompared with thequick and accurate formation of the kerfs which are utilized in thepresent instance. In producing the container herein described, the hingewire is seated by one operation of a nailing machine, the nails servingto prevent splitting of the ends of the slats, this splitting being aserious objection to slats such as heretofore employed. As the kerfembodied in the present structure is disposed at an angle, its formationdoes not tend to split the stock. 7 Furthermore the nail as wellas thewood adjacent the kerf receives the strain exerted by the contents ofthe container.

While a particular form of hinge connection has been shown and describedcombined with panels formed in one piece, it is to be understood thatthis hinge connection can also be used where separate slats are employedin the construction of the sides and ends of the container.

What is claimed is 1. A container consisting of side and end panels eachformed in a single piece of stock having parallel elongated slotsextending into the ends thereof and forming spaced tongues, the tonguesof each panel being extended between and pivotally connected to thetongues of the next adjoining panels, there being ventilating openingsformed by the slots between the inserted tongues and the inner ends ofthe slots.

2. A container consisting of side and end panels each formed in a singlepiece of stock having parallel elongated slots extending into the endsthereof and forming spaced tongues, the tongues of each panel being ex-J tended between and pivotally connected to the tongues of the nextadjoining panels, each panel having a solid intermediate portion, therebeing ventilating openings formed by the slots between the insertedtongues and the inner ends of the slots.

3. A container consisting of side and end panels each formed in a singlepiece of stock having parallel slots extending into the ends thereof andforming spaced tongues, the

tongues of each panel being extended between and pivotally connected tothe tongues of the next adjoining panels, each panel having a solidintermediate portion, said solid portion being provided, in its innerface, with grooves registering with the spaces between the tongues andwith beads alining with said tongues. r j

a. In a container, a panel formed in a single piece of stock andincluding a solid intermediate portion and parallel elongated similartongues extendin in opposite directions from said portion, the length ofeach tongue being greater than the thickness thereof. I

5. A container including interfitting wall members each having a seriesof spaced similar tongues, the tongues of each series having diagonallydisposed kerfs extending thereinto, the inner ends of all the kerfsalining in the crossed portions of the interfitting members, and a hingedevice extending through the alining portions of the kerfs.

6. A container including interfitting wall members each having a seriesof spaced similar tongues, the tongues of "each series having diagonallydisposed kerfs extending alining in the crossed portions of theinterfitting members, and a hinge device extending through the aliningportions of the kerfs, means extending transversely of the kerfs forretaining said device Within the kerfs.

7. A container including walls having tongues, the tongues of each Wallbeing extended between the tongues of the adjoining Walls, the saidtongues being formed With kerfs, the inner ends of the kerfs beingdisposed in alinement, hinge elements extending through the aliningportions of the ke-rfs and having their ends seated in certain of thekerfs, and means engaging the end portions of said elements for holdingthem against longitudinal displacement.

8. A container including Walls having tongues, the tongues of each Wallbeing extended between the tongues of the adjoining Walls, the saidtongues being formed with kerfs, the inner ends of the kerfs beingdisposed in alinement, hinge elements extending through the aliningportions of the kerfs and having ofiiset end portions seated in certainof the keris, means engaging the end portions of said elements forholding them against longitudinal displacement, and means extendingtransversely across the kerfs for maintaining said elements againstlateral displacement from the kerfs.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aiiixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

BYRD O. ROCKWELL.

Witnesses:

J. T. SIrroRn, THOS. I. THORNTON.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

